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HISTORY  OF  THE  "STARS  AND  BARS" 
Smith 


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Library 

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University  of  NortK  Carolina 

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MAJOR  ORREN  R.  SMITH 

Veteran  of  three  wars — in  Mexico,  in  Utah,  and  the  War  Between  the  States. 
Designer  of  the  first  Confederate  Flag. 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


STARS  AND  BARS 


Designed  by 

ORREN  RANDOLPH  SMITH 

February,  1861 
At  Louisburg,   North  Carolina 


Adopted  by 

Congress  of  Confederate  States  of  America 

at  Montgomery,  Alabama 

March  4,   1861 


Edwards  &  Broughton  Printing  Company 

Raleigh,  North  Carolina 

1913 


3n  jHemortam 


Cfje  JPirtf)  of  tfje  g>tar£  anb  pars 

Be  it  said  to  the  honor  of  both  herein  mentioned,  the  Veteran  of 
the  Gray,  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  designer  of  the  first  Confederate 
Flag,  who  died  recently  at  his  home  in  Henderson,  North  Carolina, 
and  the  Veteran  of  the  Blue,  General  Edward  Albert  Lever,  who 
fought  against  that  flag,  and  who  is  the  editor  of  the  magazine  in 
which  this  poem  appears,  whatever  the  convictions  of  the  two  men 
may  have  been,  each  knew  the  other  for  a  generous  foe.  Signifi- 
cant of  the  fact  is  the  silent  tribute  of  regard  which  Latin  America 
pays  to  the  memory  of  a  gallant  soldier  gone  to  his  reward. 

L.   E.   Y. 

The  shadow  of  a  storm  brooded  o'er  all, 

The  hearts  of  men  were  thrilled  with  sounds  afar, 
"What  is  this  gloom  that  blackens  like  a  pall  ? 

If  war  must  be,"  one  cried,  "then  give  us  war! 
Yet  I  have  loved  my  country;   I  have  cheered 

The   Stars  and   Stripes  beneath  the  Mexic   skies; 
The  bullet  of  the  foe  1  have  not  feared ! 

All  men  are  brothers — must  we  break  such  ties?" 

War  was  declared.     Fate  rang  Hope's  funeral  knell 

The  storm-cloud  broke,  and  the  Red,  White  and  Blue — 
Flag  he  had  bled  for — be  must  bid  farewell; 

lie  ne'er  bad  thought  to  recognize  a  new! 
Inexorable  decree!      Southland  so  fair, 

From  henceforth  he  was  thine  and  thine  alone — • 
Thine  to  the  uttermost,  to  do  and  dare, 

With  soul  determined,  with  the  last  doubt  flown ! 

Home  of  the  free,  beloved  and  peerless  land, 
Thou  had'st  no  flag  to  raise  above  the  fray, 

!N\)  emblem  all  thine  own  to  lead  thy  band, 

The  brave,  the  true,  the  dauntless  men  in  gray! 


cx> 


<^ 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

"A  soldier's  flag,"  lie  said  with  kindling  glance, 

"Must  be  his  inspiration — something  more 
Than  bunting  and  gay  colors  to  enhance 

Its  meaning  and  significance."     He  bore 

No  bitterness  within  his  lofty  soul, 

His  great  heart  had  no  room  for  petty  hate. 
Eight  was  bis  slogan,  Freedom  Avas  his  goal, 

This  Orren  Randolph  Smith !     Whate'er  the  fate 
Of  the  young  Constitution,  he  would  be 

Firt  to  reveal  its  emblem  to  the  world ! — 
Thus  musing,  he  selected  symbols  three — 

Church,  State  and  Press,  on  azure  field  unfurled. 

Then  seven  stars  he  grouped  in  circle  round — 

One  white  star  for  each  State — "For  I  know,"  he  said, 
"The  Circle  hath  a  meaning  most  profound, 

Time  and  Eternity!"     Blue,  White  and  Red 
He  tore  the  bars  and  set  them  in  their  place, 

And  as  with  bated  breath  and  rapture  pure 
The  sire  looks  upon  his  first-born's  face, 

So  be  upon  his  Flag!    What  souls  endure 

In  moments  so  supreme  his  soul  endured  ! 

Nor  even  when  he  saw  it  in  the  dust. 
To   strife  and  blood   and  sorrow  long  inured. 

Did  he  forsake  the  dear  and  holy  trust. 
Smith  gave  the  South  her  Flag.     The  best  in  him 

Was  woven  in  its  every  sacred  fold. 
Though  torn  and  tattered,  faded,  worn   and  dim. 

Our  hearts  enshrine  it  still  in  Memory's  gold. 

Lelita  Lever  Yottnge. 

(Poet  Laureate  of  Stonewall  Jackson  Chapter, 
No.  1135,  U.  D.  C,  New  Orleans,  La.; 


When  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  seven  Con- 
federate States  that  had  seceded  February  1,  1861,  met  at 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  the  first  business  after  organizing  was  to 
decide  whether  the  new  nation  should  have  a  new  flag  and  new 
Constitution  or  fight  under  the  "Stars  and  Stripes"  and  under 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  debate  was  short, 
both  sides  had  strong  arguments  to  offer.  A  new  Constitution, 
composed  of  native  white  citizens,  was  adopted,  and  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  select  a  new  flag.  This  committee  adver- 
tised in  the  leading  papers  for  designs  of  flags,  to  be  sent  to 
them  at  Montgomery.  One  of  these  went  from  Louisburg,  N". 
C,  where  there  was  living  a  man,  an  original  secessionist,  who 
so  hoped  that  the  Confederacy  would  adopt  a  new  flag  and  a 
new  Constitution  that  be  was  ready  with  a  design  when  the  ad- 
vertisement of  "Flag  Wanted"  appeared.  When  tliis  man, 
Orren  Randolph  Smith,  was  introduced  by  Gen.  Julian  S.  Carr, 
commander-in-chief  of  the  U.  C.  Y.  of  North  Carolina,  at  their 
reunion  in  Norfolk,  September,  1910,  he  told  the  story  of  his 
flag  in  the  following  words : 

"Three  times  have  I  been  a  soldier  at  my  country's  call,  twice 
fighting  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  once  under  the  'Stars 
and  Bars.'  While  with  Taylor,  south  of  the  Rio  Grande,  a 
unit  in  that  proud  army  that  never  let  an  enemy  touch  our 
flag;  in  Utah  with  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  1857-1858,  I 
learned  what  the  flag  meant  to  the  men  who  were  willing  to 
give  their  lives  for  'Old  Glory'  every  day  and  every  hour  in  the 
day.  A  soldier's  flag  must  be  his  inspiration.  It  stands  for 
home,  kindred  and  country ;  it  must  be  something  more  than  a 
piece  of  bunting  or  the  blending  of  bright  colors. 

"When  at  Sumter,  that  shot  was  fired  that  was  heard  around 
the  world,  T  realized  that  a  new  country  had  been  made  and 
that  the  new  nation  must  have  a  new  flag,  of  the  deepest,  truest 
significance,  to  lead  the  'Men  in  Gray'  against  the  greatest  odds 
and  through  the  greatest  difficulties  that  any  soldiers  have  ever 
overcome  since  the  world  was  made.     The  idea  of  my  flag  T 


8  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

took  from  the  Trinity,  'Three  in  One.'  The  three  bars  were 
for  the  Church,  State  and  Press.  Red  represented  State,  legis- 
lative, judiciary  and  executive;  white  for  Church,  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost ;  red  for  press,  freedom  of  speech,  freedom  of 
conscience  and  liberty  of  press — all  bound  together  by  a  field 
of  blue  (the  heavens  over  all),  bearing  a  Star  for  each  State  in 
the  Confederation.  The  seven  white  stars,  all  the  same  size, 
were  placed  in  a  circle,  showing  that  each  State  had  equal 
rights  and  privileges  irrespective  of  size  or  population.  The 
circle,  having  neither  head  nor  foot,  stood  for  eternity,  and 
signified  'You  defend  me  and  I'll  protect  you.'  I  had  the  flag 
all  complete  in  my  mind  before  the  Confederate  Congress  ad- 
vertised for  models,,  and  when  the  advertisement  appeared  I 
went  to  my  friend,  Miss  Rebecca  Murphy  (she  is  now  Mrs. 
W.  B.  Winborne,  of  Wilson,  1ST.  C),  and  asked  if  she  Avould 
make  me  a  little  flag,  I'd  tell  her  Iioav.  I  tore  the  'Bars  and 
cut  the  Stars'  and  she  sewed  the  stitches,  and  when  finished  the 
little  flag  was  sent  to  Montgomery,  with  the  suggestion  that  a 
star  be  added  for  each  State  that  joined  the  Confederacy.  The 
flag  committee,  as  you  all  know,  accepted  the  flag  and  named  it 
'The  Stars  and  Bars.'  They  also  adopted  the  suggestion,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  the  flag  bore  eleven  stars  for  the  eleven 
Confederate  States  that  voted  for  Jefferson  Davis  to  be  Presi- 
dent. After  the  small  flag  was  sent  to  Montgomery  I  bought 
dress  goods  from  Barrow's  store  and  asked  Miss  Rebecca  to 
make  me  a  large  flag,  9x12  feet,  for  whether  the  flag  commit- 
tee accepted  my  model  or  not  I  was  determined  that  one  of  my 
flags  should  be  floating  in  the  breeze.  Splicing  two  tall  sap- 
lings together,  I  made  a  pole  one  hundred  feet  high  and  planted 
it  on  the  courthouse  square  at  Louisburg,  N.  C.  (where  I  Avas 
then  living),  and  the  flag  Avas  sent  aloft  on  Monday,  March  18, 
1861,  two  months  before  North  Carolina  seceded.  Over  the 
Hag  was  floating  a  long  blue  streamer,  like  an  admiral  has  on 
his  ship  when  'homeward  bound,'  and  on  this  pennant  I  had 
stars  for  each  State  that  had  seceded  and  one  for  North  Caro- 
lina, for  though  my  State  was  still  in  the  Union  I  knew  she 
was  'homeAvard  bound.'  This  was  tbe  first  Confederate  flag 
ever  raised  in  the  Old  North  State,  and  this  is  Iioav  the  'Stars 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  9 

and  Bars'  came  into  existence,  'Dixie's  Flag'  that  floated  over 
the  bravest  and  hardest  to  wear  out  soldiers  ever  encountered 
in  any  war." 

Miss  Murphy,  Avho  made  the  two  flags,  married  first  Dr. 
Germain  Watson,  and  secondly  W.  B.  Winborne.  Her  sister, 
Miss  Sally  Ann,  refused  to>sew  on  the  flag,  saying  she  was  "for 
the  Union"  and  meant  to  marry  a  Yankee  officer,  and  she  did 
marry  James  A.  Miller,  lieutenant  U.  S.  A.  But  while  Mr. 
Smith  and  Miss  Rebecca  made  the  flags,  Miss  Sallie  Ann  played 
on  the  piano  and  sang  Southern  songs.  In  1904  Mrs.  Win- 
borne  was  living  at  Pine  Tops,  X.  C,  and  she  appeared  before 
W.  L.  Dunn,  a  justice  of  the  peace  (be  was  also  postmaster), 
and  made  affidavit  to  the  making  of  the  Confederate  model  and 
the  large  flag  that  was  displayed  in  Louisburg. 

She  is  living  today  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  II.  T.  Webb,  on 
South  Tarboro  street,  Wilson,  X.  C,  and  has  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  for  Mi-. 
Smith  said  he  wanted  her  to  have  a  P.  I  >.  0.  badge  ;is  it  was 
"The  Stars  and  Bars." 


Honor  to  BeStgner  of  tfje  S>tar3  anb  par£ 

In  a  long  list  of  tilings  for  which  the  Confederacy  stood 
pre-eminent,  notably  may  stand  the  promptness  with  which 
due  honor  is  meted  out  and  the  frequency  with  which  the  liv- 
ing hero  feels  the  laurel  on  his  brow.  In  such  a  category  we 
would  place  the  awarding  of  a  gold  medal  by  the  North  Caro- 
lina Division  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  to  Captain 
Orren  Randolph  Smith,  who  designed  the  flag  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. The  award  was  made  a  ceremony  of  the  Lee- Jackson 
Day  celebration  in  Henderson,  Mr.  Smith's  present  home, 
though  it  was  at  Louisburg  the  first  flag  was  unfurled.  The 
medal  was  presented  first  to  the  Orren  Randolph  Smith  Chap- 
ter Children  of  the  Confederacy  (an  enthusiastic  body  of  56 
children  named  in  his  honor),  who  carried  it  to  Major  Smith, 
who  has  grown  very  infirm  and  was  unable  to  attend  the  pub- 
lic meeting.  The  children  recently  served  a  lunch  to  the  Henry 
L.  Wyatt  Camp,  and  with  their  leader,  Mrs.  Maurice  J.  O'JSTeil, 
are  proving  a  most  useful  auxiliary  to  the  Vance  County 
Chapter. 

The  following  is  the  speech  made  by  Hon.  W.  H.  Ruffin  in 
presenting  the  medal : 

"It  is  an  unexpected  pleasure  to  me  to  be  called  upon  to  present 
this  medal  or  token  of  honor,  for  the  designing  of  the  original  Stars 
and  Bars:  coming  as  I  do,  from  Louisburg,  it  gives  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  state  history  upon  this  point,  which,  I  regret  to  say,  is 
now  a  disputed  question.  Of  course,  I  am  too  young  to  state  this 
history  from  my  own  observance,  but  I  get  this  history  from  those 
who  were  living  in  Louisburg  then  and  saw  the  Stars  and  Bars, 
first  flung  to  the  breeze,  there  in  1861,  and  from  their  statements 
and  from  that  of  Maj.  Smith  himself,  I  can  point  to  the  spot  within 
three  feet  of  where  the  flag  pole  stood.  The  second  week  in  Febru- 
ary, 1861,  Major  Smith  called  upon  Miss  Rebecca  Murphy  to  make 
him  a  model  of  about  a  foot  in  length.  The  house  in  which  she 
lived  now  stands  in  Louisburg  and  was,  until  its  removal  to  a 
different  site,  a  familiar  landmark.  Miss  Murphy  married  a  Mr. 
Winborne  and  now  lives  in  Wilson,  North  Carolina,  and  her  affi- 
davit of  these  facts  is  now  preserved.  She  also  made  the  flag  as 
raised  by  Maj.  Smith.  The  raising  of  it,  March  18,  1861,  can  even 
now  be  proven  by  Mr.  Jordan  Barrow,  from  whom  the  goods  were 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  11 

purchased  for  the  flag,  Mr.  Algernon  S.  Strother,  Commander  of 
McKinne  Camp  U.  C.  V.,  and  Mr.  Eugene  C.  Cook,  veterans  and 
others,  whom  I  might  mention,  though  most  of  them  are  now  passed 
to  the  Great  Beyond.  Maj.  Smith  stated  to  me  that  the  three  bars 
represented  the  Church,  State  and  Press,  and  the  power  and  freedom 
of  each,  that  the  seven  stars  represent  the  seven  Confederate  States, 
and  above  it  was  a  long  pennant,  such  as  is  put  upon  ships  when 
homeward  bound,  and  that  it  symbolized  that  Old  North  Carolina 
was  likewise  homeward  bound  into  the  Confederacy.  There  ought 
not  to  be  any  question  that  Maj.  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  then  a 
resident  of  Franklin  County,  now  a  resident  of  your  city,  a  veteran 
of  three  wars — Mexican,  Utah  and  Confederate — designed  and  raised 
that  flag  first  at  Louisburg,  in  our  State,  and  to  him  belongs  the 
honor  of  giving  to  the  Confederacy  its  emblem. 

"Do  not  confuse  this  flag  of  the  Confederacy  with  the  battle  flag 
afterwards  adopted,  for  that  battle  flag  is  not  in  question.  The 
United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  of  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  pay  this  tribute  to  your  distinguished  townsman 
in  recognition  of  his  being  the  designer  of  the  flag  of  the 
Great  Confederacy,  and  commissions  me  to  present  to  him  in  loving 
token  of  the  honor  due  him  for  designing  and  raising  the  first  Con- 
federate flag,  this  beautiful  medal  or  pendant  which  I  hold  in  my 
hand;  and  it  is  with  deepest  regret  that  we  note  his  absence  on 
account  of  his  feeble  health,  and  pray  that  this  old  hero  of  thre< 
wars  may  be  spared  to  us  yet  many  years,  and  in  his  absence  i 
take  a  profound  pleasure  in  presenting  the  medal  to  the  chapter  of 
the  Children  of  the  Confederacy,  which  bears  his  name,  with  the 
request,  that  they  carry  it  to  him  with  the  love  and  esteem  of  all 
Confederate  organizations  in  the  State." 


Origin  of  tfje  i§>tar£  anfc  pars 

Paper  prepared  by  Mrs.  Fannie  Ransom  Williams,  and  read  at  the  North  Carolina 
Convention  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  in  Tarboro,  on  Historical  Evening, 
October  10,  1903. 

Search  back  as  far  as  we  will  along  the  pages  of  history,  and 
we  find  that  every  tribe,  every  nation,  has  from  time  imme- 
morial had  some  emblem  or  design,  which  was  followed 
wherever  it  might  lead,  and  for  which  men,  aye,  and  women 
too,  were  willing  to  shed  their  blood  if  necessary. 

Time  passed  and  the  earlier  emblems  of  wood  and  skin  gave 
place  to  those  of  handsomer  material  and  finer  design.  Every 
nation  upon  this  green  earth  has  a  flag  peculiarly  its  own,  a 
flag  for  which  the  noblest  and  best  of  its  citizens,  the  man  in 
the  hut  as  well  as  the  man  in  the  palace,  would  sacrifice  all 
save  honor. 

Again  had  years  rolled  by,  and  the  clouds  of  war  hung  dark 
and  heavy  over  our  beloved  Southland.  History  was  in  the 
making  of  a  new  nation,  such  history  as  had  never  before  and 
will  never  again  be  written.  A  new  nation  was  being  born, 
and  this  new  nation  called  for  a  new  flag.  The  Confederate 
Congress,  composed  of  representatives  of  the  seven  seceded 
states,  sat  in  the  halls  of  the  Capitol  at  Montgomery,  Ala. 
They  had  decided  that  the  Confederate  States  of  America 
must  have  a  new  flag  of  their  own.  Hence  it  was  that  they 
appointed  a  committee  to  select  a  design  for  this  new  flag. 

As  in  most  important  matters,  the  newspapers  are  the  means 
of  communication  with  the  people,  so  it  was  in  this  instance, 
and  the  Congressional  Committee  advertised  for  designs  for 
the  first  national  flag  of  the  Confederacy,  and  it  is  to  show  to 
whom  the  honor  of  being  the  designer  of  this  flag  is  due  that 
this  paper  is  written. 

Orren  Randolph  Smith,  born  in  that  good  old  county  of 
Warren,  from  whence  have  sprung  so  many  noted  sons,  had 
served  beneath  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  again  against  the  movement  in  Utah,  under  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston.  He  was  loyal  and  true  to  his  country,  but  he  was 
a  true  son  of  the  South,  and  above  all  was  a  proud  North  Caro- 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  13 

linian.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  "states'  rights,"  and  also  in 
secession.  With  no  lack  of  insight  into  matters,  Mr.  Smith 
saw  what  was  coming,  and  realized  the  need  of  a  new  flag. 
Hence  it  was  that  when  the  call  for  designs  appeared  Mr.  Smith 
had  already  pictured  in  his  mind's  eye  the  flag  he  Avanted  to 
see. 

In  his  own  handwriting  he  has  left  us  ^  statement  of  how 
he  conceived  that  flag,  saying : 

"It  was  designed  upon  the  idea  of  the  Trinity — hence  the 
three  bars — Church,  State  and  Press.  The  Church  stood  for 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost;  the  State  for  legislative,  judicial 
and  executive;  the  Press  for  free  speech,  liberty  of  conscience 
and  the  right  to  be  heard.  The  colors  stood,  Avhite  for  purity; 
bine  for  constancy;  red  for  defiance.  Each  State  in  the  Con- 
federacy, at  the  time  of  the  design,  Avas  represented  by  a  star, 
and  there  were  only  seven  upon  the  original  that  was  made  and 
down  to  the  breeze  on  the  corner  of  the  courthouse  square  in 
Louisbnrg,  Franklin  Comity.  X.  C.  18.61.  It  Avas  made  by 
Miss  Catherine  Rebecca  Murphy,  assisted  by  her  annt.  Miss 
Xora  Sykes.  The  material  was  bought  of  Jordan  BarroAV,  and 
was  good  dress  stuff,  that  floated  light  in  the  breeze.  The 
original  flag  Avas  nine  by  twelve  feet.  The  model  sent  to  the 
Congress  in  Montgomery,  Ala.,  was  about  twelve  by  nine 
i indies,  but  the  large  flag  was  an  exact  reproduction.  There 
were  only  seven  states  in  the  Confederate  Congress  on  its  as- 
senilding,  only  seven  states  had  up  to  that  time  seceded,  and 
they  advertised  for  designs.  I  was  ready  with  mine  before  the 
advertisement   appeared    as    I    was   an   original    secessionist." 

Such  is  Major  Smith's  own  account  of  the  designing  and 
making  of  tin1  flag.  Xoav  for  one  moment  Ave  will  see  what 
the  lady  has  to  say  on  the  subject.  But  before  proceeding, 
perhaps  a  word  of  explanation  may  prevent  confusion.  Miss 
Rebecca  Murphy  Avas  at  that  time  Mrs.  Watson,  a  widow,  and 
she  later  married  a  second  time,  so  she  is  iioav  Mrs.  C.  R.  Win- 
borne,  hence  the  different  names,  all  referring  to  the  same 
party  used  in  our  affidavits.     Mrs.  Winborne  says : 

"When  the  War  betAveen  the  States  began  I  was  living  at 
my  old  home,  Lonisburg,  X.  C,     As  T  have  been  asked  to  tell 


14  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

all  I  know  about  the  making  of  the  Confederate  flag,  known  as 
the  Stars  and  Bars,  I  consider  it  both  a  duty  and  privilege  to 
make  this  affidavit,  so  that  in  the  days  to  come  there  may  be  no 
doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  man  who  designed  the  first  flag 
of  the  Confederacy. 

"Early  in  1861,  the  second  week  in  February,  my  old  friend, 
Orren  Randolph  Smith,  brought  me  some  material  and  asked 
me  to  make  him  a  flag,  and  that  he  would  tell  me  exactly  how 
to  do  it ;  for  the  Confederacy  had  decided  that  a  new  flag  was 
to  be  used  in  the  war  for  states'  rights,  and  a  committee  had 
been  appointed  to  decide  upon  a  model  and  they  had  adver- 
tised for  models,  and  he,  Mr.  Smith,  wanted  to  have  this  little 
flag  of  his  own  design  to  send  as  a  model. 

The  design  that  I  copied  was  composed  of  a  blue  field  and 
three  stripes ;  one  white  between  two  red,  and  on  the  blue  field, 
which  extended  across  the  end  of  the  white  and  one  red 
stripe,  I  sewed  seven  white  stars  in  a  circle,  a  star  for  each 
state  that  had  seceded. 

This  small  flag  was  about  a  foot  long.  The  design  was  made 
by  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  in  Louisburg,  X.  C,  and  the  flag 
was  packed  and  sent  to  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  was  later  the 
design,  without  alterations,  that  was  accepted  by  the  commit- 
tee as  the  world  now  knows." 

Thus  we  have  a  very  clear  statement  of  the  subject  from 
both  designer  and  maker  of  this  model,  and  they  agree  in  every 
particular,  in  date,  design  and  material.  Both  continue  in 
their  affidavits  to  tell  of  the  making  and  raising  of  a  large  copy 
of  this  model  on  March  18,  1861. 

John  H.  Williamson,  of  Louisburg,  says  under  oath  that 
he  "remembers  distinctly  when  Miss  Rebecca  Watson  made  the 
first  Confederate  flag,  although  he  does  not  remember  who  de- 
signed it,"  thus  corroborating  Mrs.  Winborne's  statement- 
Rev.  Charles  D.  Malone,  in  a  letter  dated  July  2,  1913,  says: 
"I  am  perfectly  satisfied  your  father  raised  the  flag  in  Louis- 
burg on  March  18,  1861,  and  it  was  understood  by  everybody 
that  she  (Miss  Murphy)  helped  your  father  make  the  flag. 
Col.  Yarborough  and  Mr.  A.  S.  Strothers  will  corroborate  all 
I  say.     That  they  know  it  to  be  true  as  to  the  fact  of  your 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  15 

father  (Major  Smith)  being  the  one  that  designed  and  raised 
the  flag,  and  that  Miss  Bebecca  Murphy  did  the  sewing. 
There  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  any  that  the  general  opinion 
prevailed  that  Major  Smith  designed  the  flag  and  that  Mrs. 
Winborne  made  both  the  model  and  the  large  flag  raised  in 
Louisburg  on  March  18,  1861." 

Besides  these  we  have  a  number  of  other  affidavits  that 
Major  Smith  designed  the  flag. 

Major  Smith  and  Mrs.  Winborne  hav«  both  plainly  de- 
scribed the  design  of  the  first  flag  as  the  model  was  sent  to 
Montgomery  the  middle  of  February,  1861.  Now  the  "Com- 
mittee  on  a  Proper  Flag  for  the  Confederate  States  of  Amer- 
ica," appointed  by  Congress,  in  its  report  of  March  1,  1861,  is 
as  follows : 

"That  the  flag  of  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  shall 
consist  of  a  red  field  with  a  white  space  extending  horizontally 
through  the  center,  and  equal  in  width  to  one-third  the  width 
of  the  flag.  The  red  spaces  above  and  below  to  be  of  the  same 
width  as  the  white.  The  union  blue  extending  down  through 
the  white  space  and  stopping  at  the  lower  red  space.  In  the 
center  of  the  union  a  circle  of  white  stars,  corresponding  in 
number  with  the  states  of  the  Confederacy." 

Such  is  the  proof  that  North  Carolina  holds  that  one  of  her 
sons  really  designed  the  Stars  and  Bars.  There  was  no  neces- 
sity for  the  Congressional  committee  to  make  a  single  change 
in  the  design  sent  by  Major  Smith.  We  find  the  design  de- 
scribed in  the  adoption  of  the  flag  by  Congress  and  the  one 
by  Major  Smith  exactly  the  same  in  every  particular. 

We  do  not  deny  the  fact  that  there  was  another  design  sent. 
In  fact  the  contestant  for  this  honor  with  Mr.  Smith  sent 
I  lira',  somewhat  similar,  Ave  acknowledge,  but  not  one  of  the 
exact  design,  as  we  will  show  if  you  will  bear  Avith  us  for  a  few 
moments  longer. 

Mr.  Nicola  Marschall,  in  a  statement  given  to  a  Louisville 
correspondent  of  the  Montgomery  (Alabama)  Advertiser  on 
June  11,  1911,  states  that  some  time  the  latter  part  of  April  or 
May,  "the  designs  were  painted  by  him."  In  Mr.  P.  D.  Harri- 
son's book  on  flags  Mr.  Marschall  says  "some  time  in  the  late 


16  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

spring."  Hence  you  see  Mr.  Marschall  is  by  no  means  certain 
of  his  dates,  and  even  places  them  after  the  adoption  of  the  de- 
sign March  4,  1861. 

In  the  same  newspaper  is  printed  a  copy  of  the  three  de- 
signs, "dashed  off  on  a  card"  by  Mr.  Marschall.  In  the  first 
and  second  designs  we  find  the  white  stripe  is  double  the  width 
of  the  red  ones.  In  the  first  the  blue  union  with  the  white 
stars  is  at  the  left  end  of  the  white  stripe;  in  the  second  we 
find  this  union  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  white  stripe.  In 
the  third  design,  the  white  and  red  stripes  are  the  same  width, 
but  the  blue  union  extends  across  one  red  and  half  the  white 
stripe.  Compare  this  last  design  with  that  of  Major  Smith's 
and  you  will  find  in  the  former  we  have  the  union  extending 
only  across  half  the  white  stripe,  while  in  Major  Smith's 
and  in  the  Stars  and  Bars  as  adopted  it  extends  entirely  across 
the  white,  and  why  should  the  Congressional  committee  change 
one  man's  design  when,  another  man's  exactly  what  they 
wanted,  was  in  their  hands? 

When  the  unprejudiced  reader  lias  examined  the  designs  of 
both  the  claimants  and  the  affidavits  appended  to  this  paper, 
the  honor  of  being  the  designer  will  unhesitatingly  be  accorded, 
where  we  have  proven  it  to  belong,  to  Orren  Randolph  Smith, 
of  North  Carolina. 


W\)t  g>tar*  anb  Par£=  =OTf)o  Bestgneb  3ft? 

Paper  prepared  for  the  CoDtemporary  Club,  Henderson,  N.  C,  by  Hon.  T.  M.  Pitt- 
man,  LL.  JJ.,  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission. 

The  Confederate  States  of  America  had  four  flags.  That 
known  as  the  Stars  and  Bars  was  the  first  adopted.  Its  de- 
sign was  reported  to  the  Provisional  Congress  on  March  -i, 
1861,  just  one  month  after  the  formation  o4'  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. The  committee,  of  Avhich  William  Porcher  Miles, 
of  South  Carolina,  was  chairman,  received  designs  from  all 
over  the  South.  One  hundred  and  twenty-nine  of  these,  with 
the  letters  accompanying  them,  were  pasted  in  an  old  volume 
of  treasury  blanks  and  filed  away  with  the  captured  Confeder- 
ate archives  in  the  War  Department  a1  Washington.  They  are 
probably  still  there,  but  seem  not  to  have  been  accessible  to 
those  seeking  informal  ion  upon  the  subject  of  this  paper. 

The  general  features  of  this  flag  were  so  similar  to  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  as  to  create  confusion  in  battle,  both  sides  being 
misled  by  the  resemblance.  This  likeness  was  potent  at  the 
time  of  its  adoption  and  contributed  to  its  selection  in  deference 
to  a  sentiment  of  deep  attachment  to  the  old  flag.  Frank  Car- 
penter,  writing   in    Lippincott's   Magazine,    April,    1885,   says: 

"From  the  designs  and  letters  it  can  be  seen  how  general 
was  the  desire  throughout  the  South  to  retain  all  that  was  pos- 
sible of  the  old  flag.  The  greater  part  of  the  designs  ai"e 
made  up  of  modifications  of  the  stars  and  stripes  in  all  con- 
ceivable shapes,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  writer  who  does  not 
wisli  that  the  associations  of  the  old  flag  may  be  preserved  in 
the  new.  One  letter  recommends  a  design  because  it  retains 
all  the  hallowed  associations  which  have  for  years  clustered 
around  the  'stars  and  stripes'  of  a  nation  once  the  most  glo- 
rious the  world  ever  beheld,  and  of  which  nation  the  Southern 
States  were  but  lately  its  proudest  element,  blest  in  its  privi- 
leges, blest  in  its  widespread  fraternal  love,  and  equal  in  the 
possession  of  all  its  common  glories,  past,  present,  and  pros- 
pective. *  *  *  This  feeling  for  the  stars  and  stripes  was 
indeed  so  strong  that  the  convention  dared  not  neglect  it."     To 


18  The  Stabs  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

the  same  effect  is  Harrison's  "The  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
Other  American  Flags."     P.   325,  lb. 

Unfortunately  the  committee  failed  to  name  the  author  of 
the  design,  and  rival  claimants  now  contend  for  that  distinc- 
tion. The  situation,  however,  is  measurably  relieved  by  the 
fact  that  the  contention  is  confined  to  two  persons,  viz.,  Orren 
Randolph  Smith,  late  of  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  and 
Nicola  Marschall,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

The  claim  of  Major  Smith  became  the  subject  of  newspaper 
discussion  during  the  later  years  of  the  last  century,  and  was 
undisputed  until  February,  1904,  when  Mr.  Marschall  asserted 
his  right,  through  the  Lost  Cause,  a  periodical  published  in 
Louisville.  So  far  neither  of  these  gentlemen  or  their  friends 
have  been  able  to  produce  any  official  record  or  contempora- 
neous writing  in  support  of  their  respective  contentions,  and 
we  are  left  to  the  statements  of  the  parties  themselves  and 
such  collateral  support  as  may  be  derived  from  other  sources. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  state  the  known  facts  as 
fully  as  possibly  and  deduce  from  them  the  conclusions  which 
shall  seem  most   probably  correct  under  all  the  circumstances. 

Mr.  Marschall  is  an  artist,  wbo  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1829 
and  came  to  America  in  1849.  He  located  at  Marion,  Ala- 
bama, where  he  formed  pleasant  associations  and  acquired 
reputation  and  popularity  as  a  painter  of  portraits.  The 
statement  of  his  claim  in  the  Lost  Cause  is  as  follows : 

"Texas  had  first  seceded  on  February  1,  1861.  No  flag  had 
been  adopted,  and  calls  were  made  for  a  suitable  design.  Mrs. 
Lockett,  being  a  friend  of  the  young  artist,  who  by  this  time 
had  distinguished  himself  in  his  art,  went  to  him  and  told 
him  the  Confederate  Government  wanted  a  flag,  and  suggested 
he  should  design  one  similar  to  the  United  States  flag.  He 
took  his  pencils  and  made  tAvo  designs.  The  one  red  and 
white  with  the  blue  field  in  the  upper  left  corner  and  seven 
stars,  the  number  of  States  that  had  at  that  time  seceded." 

In  response  to  Mr.  Harrison's  inquiry  for  further  partic- 
ulars, he  wrote,  December  16,  1904,  "I  have  nothing  to  add 
to  the  article  in  the  Lost  Cause,  as  that  states  all  I  know  and 


Flag  of  the  Confederacy  and  the  Two  Designs  That  Were  Rejected.— From  the 
Marschall  flag  article  in  the  Montgomery  Advertiser. 


20  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

the  dates  I  have  forgotten.'"  Mr.  Harrison  then  upon  Mr. 
Marschall's  reference  wrote  to  three  different  people  for  in- 
formation relating  to  his  design,  "but  neither  one  has  any 
personal  knowledge  of   it." 

The  foregoing  information  concerning  Mr.  Marschall  is  taken 
from  "The  Stars  and  Stripes,"  etc.  pages  331-334. 

In  the  Montgomery  Advertiser  of  June  11,  1911,  is  an  ap- 
parently authoritative  article  giving  a  circumstantial  account  of 
his  designing  the  flag.  It  is  not  substantially  different  from  the 
Lost  Cause  statement,  except  that  the  date  of  his  design  is 
given  as  "towards  the  latter  part  of  April  or  early  in  May, 
several  weeks  after  the  opening  of  hostilities,"  and  a  cut  of 
his  design  is  printed  which  differs  from  that  actually  adopted 
and  used  in  that  the  blue  field  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner 
clces  not  extend  down  through  the  upper  red  bar  and  the  white 
bar,  but  only  half  way  the  white — i.  e.,  only  one-half  the 
depth  of  the  flag  instead  of  two-thirds.  This  statement  says 
that  he  made  three  instead  of  two  designs. 

He  only  learned  from  Mrs.  Lockett  "a  month  or  so  later" 
that  his  drawing  was  accepted.  "Later  I  saw  the  flag  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  soldiers  attired  in  gray  uniforms" ;  this  last 
a    rather   uncomfortably  guarded   statement. 

This  is  apparently  the  only  information  bearing  upon  Mr. 
Marschall's  claim. 

Major  Smith  was  born  in  Warren  County,  North  Carolina, 
December  18,  3  827.  His  grandfather,  Samuel  Smith,  was  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-six 
years  and  was  blind  a  long  time  before  his  death.  Orren  was 
the  companion  and  guide  of  this  old  man,  and  his  audience 
of  one,  into  whose  willing  ears  were  poured  the  stories  of  mili- 
tary achievement  and  the  civil  struggles  for  popular  liberty. 
The  youth  was  of  a  highly  imaginative  and  excitable  tempera- 
ment which  was  manifest  throughout  his  long  life.  While  yet  a 
youth  he  discarded  his  school  books  and  enlisted  in  Company 
H,  First  North  Carolina  Regiment,  for  service  in  the  Mexican 
War.  After  his  return  from  Mexico  he  enlisted  under  Colonel 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston  for  service  against  the  Mormons. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  Major  Smith  was  back 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  21 

in    North    Carolina    an    ardent    secessionist    and    intensly    im- 
patient  of  the  Union   spirit   then  dominant   in   that   State. 

While  he  was  chafing  under  these  conditions  the  Confed- 
eracy was  formed  at  Montgomery,  Alabama.  Its  call  for  the 
submission  of  designs  for  a  National  flag  came  to  him  as  one 
held  in  leash  and  offered  at  least  one  opportunity  for  coming 

in  touch  with  the  forward  movement  of  the  South.  His  rest- 
s' 
less  spirit  had  anticipated  the  demand  and  his  fancy  had  al- 
ready wrought  out  the  design  since  known  as  the  Stars  and 
Bars,  which  recognized  the  common  demand  for  a  flag  hav- 
ing kinship  with  the  old  flag,  and  was  to  him  also  emblematic 
in  its  colors,  etc.,  of  various  things  which  he  thought  significant 
of  the  new  national  impulse.  He  engaged  the  assistance  of 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Watson,  a  young  widow  living  at  Louisburg,  X. 
C,  who  made  for  him  a  model  flag  about  12  by  15  inches  in 
size,  which  was  forwarded  to  Montgomery  and,  as  he  was  later 
informed  through  the  newspapers,  was  accepted.  Im- 
mediately after  lie  learned  of  the  adoption  of  his  design 
Major  Smith  procured  goods  from  the  store  of  Mr.  J.  S. 
Barrow,  at  Louisburg,  and  again  sought  the  assistance  of  Mrs. 
Watson  in  the  making  of  a  large  flag  after  the  same  design, 
9  by  12  feet  in  size.  This  was  completed  on  March  17,  and 
raised  near  the  courthouse  in  Louisburg  on  March  IS,  18(31. 

The  various  details  of  the  foregoing  statement  are  sup- 
ported by  affidavits  of  credible  witnesses  who  have  personal 
knowledge   of   the   facts. 

Mrs.  Watson  (now  Mrs.  Winborne),  says  "Early  in  1M61, 
the  second  week  in  February,  my  old  friend  Orren  Randolph 
Smith,  brought  me  some  material  and  asked  me  to  make  him 
a  flag,  he  would  tell  me  how  to  do  it,  for  the  Confederacy  had 
decided  that  a  new  flag  was  to  be  used  *  *  *  and  lie 
*     *     *     was  going  to  send  in  this  little  flag  as  a  model." 

"The  design  was  composed  of  a  blue  field  and  three  stripes 
one  white  and  tAvo  red,  and  on  the  blue  field  T  sewed  seven 
white  stars  in  a  circle,  a  star  for  each  State  that  up  to  that  time 
ha/1  seceded. 

"This  small  flag  was  about  a  foot  long.  This  design  was 
made  by   Orren   Randolph   Smith,   in  Louisburg,   North   Caro- 


22  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer. 

lina,  and  the  flag  was  made  by  me  under  his  directions,  packed 
and  sent  to  Montgomery,  Alabama  and  was  accepted." 

Airs.  Watson  gives  the  details  of  making  and  raising  the 
large  flag,  noting  the  refusal  of  her  sister  to  assist  in  the  mak- 
ing because  of  her  Union  sentiment,  etc. 

Mrs.  Sue  Jasper  Sugg,  Tarboro,  N".  C,  tells  of  being  in 
Louisburg  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Watson  and  of  the  making  of 
the  model  and  the  large  flag  under  Major  Smith's  directions, 
which  were  "exactly  like  the  flag  now  called  the  Stars  and  Bars, 
and  that  she  Avas  present  and  saw  Mr.  Smith  when  he  raised 
the  large  flag." 

John  II.  Williamson  "remembers  distinctly  Avhen  Mrs.  Re- 
becca Watson  made  the  first  Confederate  flag,  but  is  unable 
to  say  who  designed  it."  Its  raising  "was  superintended  by 
Mr.  O.  B.  Smith." 

Algernon  S.  Strother  tells  how  Orren  B.  Smith  in  March, 
1861,  designed  and  raised  a  Confederate  States  flag  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  courthouse  square  in  Louisburg.  I 
remember  distinctly  how  it  looked ;  that  it  was  made  of  good 
purchased  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Barrow,  who  had  a  general  merchandise 
store,  and  was  made  by  Miss  Becky  Murphy  (the  maiden  name 
of  Mrs.  Watson).  "The  flag  had  three  stripes  of  red  and 
white  and  stars  in  the  corner,  and  it  hung  where  Mr.  Smith 
placed  (it)  until  I  went  off  to  the  war  in  Company  K,  Thirty- 
second  Begiment,  Franklin  Bifles." 

These  affidavits  may  be  seen  complete  in  the  appendix  hereto. 

Jos.  John  Allen,  a  half-brother  of  Major  Smith,  gives  in 
the  Baleigh  News  and  Observer,  of  October  19,  1913,  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  account  of  their  mother's  uneasiness  over 
Orren's  rashness  and  of  his  own  visit  to  the  flag,  etc. 

As  I  am  a  half  brother  of  the  late  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  I  have 
heretofore  deemed  it  officious  and  unbecoming  to  say  much  along 
this  line,  but  in  the  interest  of  truth  and  of  history  1  shall  now 
tell  just  what  I  know  about  this  flag  and  what  I  shall  say  is  the 
truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth: 

I  was,  at  the  time  of  the  raising  of  this  flag,  a  barefooted  boy  of 
fourteen  years  of  age,  and  it  was  on  one  Monday  afternoon,  March 
18th,  1861,  that  I  had   returned   from  a  field  where  I  had  been  to 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  23 

see  some  work  being  done  by  my  father's  negroes,  and  I  found  our 
mother  in  a  fit  of  nervous  excitement  over  "Orren's  hasty  adventure 
at  secession,"  and  by  her  I  was  informed  that  he  had  gone  over  to 
town  to  raise  "The  Liberty  Pole,"  a  term  used  by  our  ancestors 
during  the  Revolution,  and  she  not  knowing  what  to  call  the  seces- 
sion flag. 

As  I  had  this  news  broken  to  me  so  suddenly,  I  was  impatient 
for  the  next  morning  to  come,  that  I  might  go  over  to  Louisburg 
and  see  what  that  secession  monstrosity  meant,*  and  finishing  my 
breakfast  I  put  out  afoot  and  soon  found  myself  under  its  moving- 
folds  where  it  had  been  erected  near  where  Hicks'  corner  now  is  on 
Main  street  in  Louisburg. 

The  pole,  made  in  sections  of  two  poplars,  was  cut  on  my  father's 
land  and  by  Bill  Allen,  colored,  a  slave  of  my  father,  and  who  was 
then  in  the  employ  of  Orren  Smith,  and  who  is  still  living  and  will 
testify  to  the  part  he  took  in  cutting  the  pole  and  its  erection. 

Among  the  school  boys  still  living  who  will  testify  to  the  Stars 
and  Bars  on  this  date  and  its  erection  are  the  following:  Rev. 
Charles  D.  Malone,  of  Washington,  N.  C;  Dr.  Wm.  C.  Person,  Or- 
lando, Fla.;  Hugh  D.  Egertcn,  Charles  Harris,  W.  W.  Green,  Frank 
Ballard,  Dr.  R.  E.  King,  of  Louisburg,  N.  C. 

The  soldiers  who  volunteered  under  this  flag  in  the  first  company 
of  the  county,  "Franklin  Rifles,"  under  the  late  William  Furnifold 
Green,  are:  Dixon  G.  Conn,  Raleigh,  N.  C. ;  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Collie, 
Castalia,  N.  C. :  Col.  W.  H.  Yarborough,  Louisburg,  N.  C;  Josiah 
A.  May,  and  several  ethers  who  will  testify  that  the  Stars  and 
Bars  were  first  seen  and  heard  of  in  the  good  old  town  of  Louisburg, 
N.  C.  Now,  to  those  who  claim  any  Stars  and  Bars  that  antedate 
this  I  shall  say,  "Let  it  come  and  let  the  truth  prevail." 

Trusting  that  this  statement  may  meet  the  eyes  of  the  North 
Carolina  Daughters, 

I  am,  most  respectfully, 

Joseph  John  Ai.lkn. 

Louisburg,  October   14,   1913. 

From  this  available  information  it  seems  reasonable  to  infer: 

1.  That  Mr.  Marschalbs  work  was  so  casual  as  to  make  no 
decided  impression  upon  his  mind  either  before  or  after  bis 
work  was  done.  There  is  no  model  or  flag  from  his  design 
subject  to  comparison  with  flags  in  actiial  service. 

2.  That  his  design  furnished  to  and  published  in  The  Mont- 
gomery Advertiser  is  unlike  the  flag  actually  adopted  and 
used,  a  difference  that  is  material  in  view  of  the  great  simi- 
larity of  many  of  the  designs. 


24 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer 


3.  That  Major  Smith's  work  was  not  causal  but  marked  by 
great  enthusiasm,  earnestness  and  deep  concern,  calculated  to 
make  a  lasting  impression  upon  his  own  mind,  and  on  others. 
His  flag  was  raised  and  kept  flying  for  months,  at  least,  in  one 
of  the  most  intelligent  communities  in  the  South,  subject  to 
criticism  and  comparison  with  flags  in  actual  service.  He  is 
corroborated  in  every  material  detail  by  the  affidavits  of  credi- 
ble Avitnesses. 

Major  Smith's  claim  appears  to  be  unquestionably  sustained 
by  the  greater  weight  of  the  evidence  and  ought  to  be  admitted. 

Henderson,  K  C,  October  28,  191:5. 


Sfttbabtts 

jtlrg.  Catherine  Rebecca  Winbornt 

Xorth  Carolina — Wilson  County. 

When  the  War  Between  the  States  began  I  was  living  at 
my  old  home,  Louisburg,  X.  C,  the  widow  of  Mr.  German 
Watson.  And  since  I  have  lie  en  asked  to  tell  all  I  know  of 
the  designing  and  making  of  the  Confederate  flag,  known 
as  the  Star-  and  Bars,  I  consider  it  both  a  duty  and  privilege 
to  make  this  affidavit,  so  that  in  the  days  to  come  there  may 
be  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  man  who  designed  the 
Stars  and  Bars,  the  first  flag  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America. 

Early  in  1861,  the  second  week  in  February,  my  old 
friend.  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  brought  me  some  material 
and  ask(  d  me  to  make  him  a  flag,  and  that  he  would  tell  me 
exactly  how  to  do  it,  for  the  Confederacy  had  decided  that  a 
new  flag  wa-  to  be  used  in  the  War  for  State-'  Rights,  and  a 
committee  had  been  appointed  to  decide  upon  a  model,  and 
this  committee  had  advertised  for  models  and  he,  Mr.  Smith, 
wanted  to  have  this  little  Hag  of  his  own  design  to  send  as  a 
model. 

The  design  that  1  copied  was  composed  of  a  blue  held  and 
three  stripes,  one  white  between  two  red.  and  on  the  bine 
held,  which  extended  across  the  end  of  the  white  and  one  red 
stripe,  T  sewed  sev<  n  white  stars  in  a  circle,  a  star  for  each 
State  that  up  to  that  time  had  seceded. 

This  -mall  flag  was  about  a  foot  long.  The  design  was 
made  by  Orren  Randolph  Smith,  in  Louislmrg,  X.  C,  and 
the  flag  was  made  by  me  under  his  direction  and  when  fin- 
ished was  packed  and  sent  to  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  was 
later  the  design,  without  any  alterations,  that  was  accepted 


26  The  Stars  and  Eaks  and  Its  Designee 

by  the  committee,  as  ail  the  world  now  knows,  and  every- 
where it  is  honored  and  treated  with  reverence. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Smith  learned  that  his  design  was  accepted 
as  "the  flag  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,"  the  day 
following  he  again  came  to  me  and  brought  material  to  make 
a  large  Hag  in  accordance  with  his  model,  and  with  my  assist- 
ance a  large  Hag,  identical  in  every  particular  with  the  small 
model,  sent  to  Montgomery  was  made.  We  enjoyed  our 
work,  talking  and  laughing  as  old  friends  do  when  to- 
gether and  interested  in  their  work,  and  then,  we  had  no 
idea  of  the  terrific  struggle  that  was  coming,  nor  of  the 
fierce  fighting  that  was  to  be  done  under  and  for  that  flag. 

My  sister,  Sarah  Ann,  would  not  help  us  to  make  either 
flag;  said  she  was  "for  the  Union,"'  and  intended  to  marry  a 
Yankee  officer  (and  she  did),  so  while  we  worked  on  the  flags 
she  played  and  sang  different  Southern  songs. 

We  sewed  and  worked  on  the  large  flag  as  hard  as  we 
could,  but  did  not  get  it  finished  by  Saturday  night,  so  we 
completed  it  on  Sunday,  March  17,  1861,  and  early  Monday 
morning  Mr.  Smith  raised  this  flag  in  Louisburg,  jST.  C,  it 
being  the  first  Confederate  flag  ever  displayed  in  Xorth 
Carolina,  and  two  months  before  the  Old  Xorth  State  left 
the  Union. 

Over  the  flag  Mr.  Smith  had  floating  in  the  breeze,  a  long 
blue  pennant,  like  an  admiral's  pennant  on  his  ship  when 
homeward  bound,  and  on  this  pennant  were  nine  white  stars. 
He  said  that  though  Xorth  Carolina  was  still  in  the  Union 
she  was  homeward  bound,  and  this  was  the  first  significant 
straw  that  showed  which  way  the  wind  was  blowing. 

Catherine  Rebecca  (her  X  mark)  Winborne. 

Witness  as  to  mark : 

Geo.  Stronacji. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  30th  day  of  June,  1913. 

Geo.  Stronach,  Notary  Public. 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer  27 

Jflrsi.  ££>ue  toper  Hmgg 

Tarboro,  N\  C 
Having  been  in  Louisburg,  in  February,  1861,  and  being  a 
friend  of  both  Mrs.  Rebecca  Watson  and  Mr.  Orren  Randolph 
Smith,  I  was  in  Mrs.  Watson's  house  while  she  was  sewing  on 
the  Confederate  flag  model  to  be  sent  to  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress. I  know  she  was  making  it  for  that  purpose,  know  that 
Orren  Smith  designed  it,  and  heard  him  tell  her  how  to  make 
it ;  and  I  also  know  that  model  was  sent  to  the  Flag  Com- 
mittee in  Montgomery,  and  we  all  know  it  was  Mr.  Smith's 
design  Avhen  accepted.  The  model  was  exactly  like  the  flag 
now  called  the   Stars  and  Bars. 

[  also  knew  and  saw  Mrs.  Watson  when  she  was  making 
the  "large  flag"  which  was  raised  on  the  courthouse  square  in 
the  town  of  Louisburg,  T\".  C,  on  March  18,  1861.  This  large 
flag  was  exactly  like  the  small  one  sent  to  Montgomery  by 
Mr.  Smith.  1  was  present  ami  saw  Mr.  Smith  when  he 
raised  it.  (Signed)  Mrs.  Sue  Jasper  Sugg. 

Xorth  Carolina — Edgecombe  County. 

Personally  appeared  before  me  this  day,  Mrs.  Sue  Jasper 
Sugg,  who  being  first  duly  sworn,  says  that  the  facts  above 
stated  are  true  to  the  best  of  her  knowledge  and  belief. 

This  October  10,   1913.  (Signed)    A.   T.   Walston. 

(Legal  Seal)  <  !lerk  Superior  Court. 

C.  C.  Harris 

North   Carolina — Franklin   County. 

C.  C.  Harris,  being  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  says: 
That  he  remembers  well  the  year  when  the  soldiers  went  to 
the  front  and  that  early  in  the  said  year,  1861,  lie  was  in  Louis- 
burg when  Orren  Smith  raised  a  Hag  at  the  courthouse  square; 
he  was  present  and  saw  tbe  flag  when  it  was  brought  to  lie 
drawn  up  on  the  pole,  and  by  some  means  it  became  entangled 
in  the  rope  and  Mr.  Smith  climbed  the  pole  with  the  aid  of  the 
rope  and  disentangled  the  flag,  and  it  was  then  drawn  to  the 
top  of  the  pole;  there  were  a  good   many   people  in   town  that 


28  The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer 

day,  and  affiant  distinctly  remembers  that  as  the  flag  floated 
out  on  the  breeze  Mr.  William  F.  Green,  afterwards  a  Colonel 
in  the  Confederate  Army,  took  off  his  hat  and  waived  it  over 
his  head  and  said  "May  God  give  it  victory." 

(Signed)  C.  C.  Harris. 

Savoiti  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  September  6,  1913. 

Tnos.  B.  Wilson. 

Algernon  H>.  i£>trotf)er 

North  Carolina — Franklin   County. 

I,  Algernon  S.  Strother,  a  native  of  Louisburg,  Franklin 
County,  Xorth  Carolina,  being  first  duly  sworn,  do  depose 
and  say: 

That  in  the  month  of  March,  1861,  Orren  B.  Smith,  who 
was  then  in  Louisburg,  North  Carolina,  designed  and  raised 
a  Confederate  States  flag  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  court- 
house square,  in  Louisburg.  I  recall  distinctly  how  it  looked; 
that  it  was  made  of  goods  purchased  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Barrow, 
wlio  had  a  general  merchandise  store  in  Louisburg;  that  it  was 
made  by  Miss  Becky  Murphy,  who  also  lived  in  Louisburg, 
near  where  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railway  depot  stands  to- 
day; that  Mr.  Smith  had  one  Bill  Allen,  a  colored  man,  to  get 
liini  a  pole  to  raise  the  flag  on,  and  the  pole  he  brought  was 
too  short,  and  Bill  was  sent  for  another  one,  and  he  spliced  the 
poles,  making  one  tall  pole.  This  flag  had  three  stripes  of 
red  and  white,  and  stars  in  the  corner,  and  it  hung  where  Mr. 
Smith  placed  it  until  I  went  off  to  the  war  in  Company  K, 
Thirty-second  Regiment,  Franklin  Rifles. 

I  have  been  told  that  it  hung  there  till  the  troops  in  Sher- 
man's army  came  by  and  cut  it  down,  though,  being  in  the 
Confederate  Army  and  away  from  Louisburg  then,  I  have 
no  personal  knoAvledge  of  how  or  when  it  was  taken  down. 

(Signed)  Algernon  S.  Strother. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  5th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1013.  J.  J.  Barrow, 

Clerk  Superior  Court  of  Franklin  County. 


Jfrtenbsi,  Contributor*  anb  helper* 

Last  year  when  the  North  Carolina  Division,  United  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Confederacy  held  their  convention  at  Salisbury,  Mrs. 
T.  W.  Thrash,  Recording  Secretary  of  the  division,  on  behalf  of 
Major  Smith,  presented  to  the  Daughters  a  beautiful  flag  which 
was  accepted  with  thanks,  but  the  State  Historian  asked  for 
proofs. 

One  of  the  first  important  acts  of  Miss  Carrie  Leazar  as 
Historian  of  the  North  Carolina  Division  was  to  ask  Mrs. 
Fannie  Ransom  Williams  to  write  a  paper  on  "The  Stars  and 
Bars/'  This  year,  on  Historical  Evening,  at  Tarboro,  the 
claims  of  Major  Smith  were  clearly  proven  and  affidavits  read 
and  accepted  by  the  Division,  with  hearty  applause. 

After  Mrs.  Williams  had  so  acceptably  presented  his  flag 
to  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  at  Washington, 
Major  Smith  asked  her,  as  the  daughter  of  his  friend  and  kins- 
man, General  Robert  Ransom,  to  write  for  him,  the  story  of  his 
flag. 

The  original  affidavits  given  here  with  those  of  Rev.  C.  D. 
Malone,  Messrs.  J.  A.  May,  Hugh  Edgerton,  Win.  J.  King, 
J.  H.  Williams  and  William  S.  Allen;  and  the  exact  copies  of 
i  he  three  models  painted  by  Mr.  Xicola  Marschall,  and  the 
model  made  under  the  direction  of  Major  Smith,  have  been  filed 
in  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  Archives,  at 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  by  the  efficient  Historian,  Miss  Leazar. 

For  hearty  cooperation  and  assistance  in  collecting  the  history 
of  "The  Stars  and  liars,"  besides  those  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned,  special  thanks  are  due,  and  are  hereby  gratefully 
given  to  the  following: 

Mr.  P.  D.  Harrison,  author  of  "The  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
other  American  Flags,"    Manchester,  X.    II. 

Gen.  Julian  S.  Can-,  Commander-in-Chief  X.  C.  Div.  U.  C, 
V.,  Durham,  XT.  C. 

Colonel  S.  A.  Cunningham,  editor  of  the  Confederate  Vet- 
eran, Nashville,  Tenn. 


30 


The  Stars  and  Bars  and  Its  Designer 


Col.  T.  C.  DeLeon,  author  of  the  "Belles  Beaux  and  Braius 
of  the  Sixties,"  Mobile,  Ala. 

Colonel  F.  A.  Olds,  Dean  of  the  City  Press,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Mr.  M.  O.  Sherrill,  State  Librarian,  Raleigh,  ]ST.  C. 

Mrs.  1ST.  V.  Randolph,  President  Richmond  Chapter,  U.  D.  C, 
Richmond,  Va. 

Miss  Rebecca  Cameron,  Honorary  Historian,  North  Caro- 
lina Division,  IT.  D.  C,  Hillsboro,  1ST.  C. 

Mrs.  J.  P.  Winston,  President  J.  J.  Davis  Chapter,  U.  D.  C, 
Louisburg,  N".  C. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Davis,  Registrar  State  Division,  U.  D.  C,  Louis- 
burg, X.  C. 

Mr.  A.  F.  Johnson,  Editor  of  the  Franklin  Times.  Louis- 
burg, N".  C. 

Mrs.  Doane  Herring,  former  President,  and  Mrs.  F.  A. 
Woodard,  President  of  the  John  W.  Dimton  Chapter,  TJ.  D.  C, 
Wilson,  N.  C. 

Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Estes,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

Newspapers  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Maryland,  Virginia,  Xorth 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Ken- 
tuckv  and  others. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032758276 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


,-  SS?*-      **-. 


